Short Breaths and Pounding Heartbeats
by Cammie Fujisaki
Summary: Tadase has always believed you can't judge a book by it's cover, and when he meets a lonely young man while on vacation, a man that everyone in town (even Nagihiko) believes is a curse, he won't let himself be swayed by everyone's hateful remarks. And if he finds himself falling in love with him, what of it? It's not like real life is as dramatic as the story of Romeo and Juliet.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: AU, and features shonen-ai (light boys love) meaning yes, Tadase and Ikuto are gay. Rated as a precation for future language and themes (meaning no lemons, sorry :P).**

~oOo~

Tadase stepped off of the bus, squinting as bright light filled his vision. He adjusted his grip on the bag slung over his shoulder, walking slowly into the warm summer air. As his eyes adjusted to the sunlight surrounding him he looked around, taking in the bright blue ocean in the distance.

"This is awesome, huh?" Tadase looked to his right to see his best friend Kukai surfacing from the bus energetically, a hand held over his eyes to block out the bright sun. There was a large grin on his face, and Tadase could already tell that the other was dying to go swimming. Unfortunately that would have to wait.

"Yeah, it's quite peaceful here," Tadase noted. The air around him was calm, silent except for the occasional chirruping bird or rustling of trees' leaves in the wind. In comparison to the city, with the many flashing lights and loud horns emerging from the thick traffic covering the streets, this quaint town was practically heaven. As far as Tadase could see there was green grass and occasional tall trees. Several small roads, most of them made from dirt, went off in various directions, some snaking up the small mountain behind the train station, while some headed to the small town a short ways to the left.

"Yeah, things are pretty calm here; you better not make the town too crazy."

Tadase turned around to see Nagihiko stepping off of the bus, carrying his suitcase in one of his hands. He dropped it to the ground and pulled out the handle, opting to pull it the rest of the way.

Kukai scoffed. "Like we ever make things crazy."

"Hotori-kun doesn't cause a ruckus, but you freak out over every little thing," Nagihiko said, resting a hand on his waist as he stared at the brunette. Kukai laughed, and hit him on the back playfully.

"Dude, I am not like that at all!"

"I'd have to agree with Nagi." Tadase glanced back over his shoulder to see Amu joining them, struggling to carry her heavy pink duffel bag off of the bus. "You're pretty loud and excitable. And kind of stupid."

"Hotori! Make them stop picking on me!" Kukai whined, sticking out his lower lip playfully as he looked at his best friend with pleading eyes. Tadase looked away.

"They're not saying anything that's not true."

"Dude! That's harsh!" Kukai exclaimed, an aghast expression forming on his face. Tadase chuckled as he looked back at his friend, giving him a small smile.

"Anyway, should we get going now, Fujisaki-kun?"

"Probably. My Aunt's likely waiting for us," Nagihiko replied, glancing towards the nearby town.

"Dude, we have to walk?" Kukai complained, his shoulders slumping dejectedly. Nagihiko sighed.

"Don't whine, it'll only take a few minutes. Nobody owns a car here anyway; there's nowhere to drive to." Nagihiko started walking in the direction of the small town, obviously knowing where he was supposed to go.

"Fine," Kukai mumbled, grumbling a few complaints as he followed after the other boy. Tadase chuckled, and after a brief look to Amu, who seemed somewhat amused as well, the two began walking to the town.

"Hey Nagi, what's your Aunt like?" Amu called ahead to Nagihiko as they walked. Nagihiko slowed down to let her catch up before speaking.

"Well, she's kind of like my mother, except a lot less traditional. That's not to say she doesn't abide by our customs, she's just a little bit more lenient about most things. Except for when it comes to the inn, though."

Nagihiko was referring to the inn that his Aunt ran. It had been passed down through their family for generations, and would be passed down to his Aunt's daughter when she retired. Because it was located in a small town it was not often busy, but they did get a lot more business during the summer. For as long as he could remember Nagihiko would go to help out at the inn during his summer breaks, and this year his Aunt suggested that he bring his friends along.

Tadase thought the deal sounded pretty good; he would have to do work around the inn, but he'd get to stay there for free. And it was better than staying home and dealing with his mother's mood swings all day. And now that he thought about it, she had been awfully moody since he asked to go on the trip.

When he told her where he would be going, she got incredibly angry and told him no straightaway, although she probably would have done that no matter where he went. It took his father several days to convince her to let him go, and although most of the conversations took place behind closed doors Tadase had caught the occasional "what are the odds" and "you're just too paranoid." Tadase had no clue what his mother thought he'd get up to, but it sounded like she doubted that he had an ounce of common sense.

Even after his mother had been convinced she seemed very wary of him, and Tadase was incredibly glad to be out of the house for a few weeks. Even if he had to work, it would be much more relaxing than dealing with his mom.

"As long as she doesn't force you into a skirt," Amu muttered, drawing Tadase's mind back into the conversation and earning a chuckle from Kukai.

"No, she doesn't make me wear a skirt," Nagihiko replied with a somewhat thankful look on his face.

"Lame! It's always so funny when we visit and your mom's making you dress like a girl!" Kukai laughed. Tadase wasn't sure why, but Kukai always seemed to find Nagihiko's cross-dressing past incredibly amusing.

"I'll make sure to tell my mother so that next time you come over she prepares an extra skirt," Nagihiko retaliated darkly, causing Kukai to gulp and shiver slightly, knowing full well that Nagihiko always carried out his threats.

"Is the ocean here warm?" Amu asked suddenly, deciding a change in topic wouldn't hurt. Nagihiko nodded.

"Usually it's pretty warm. We can go the beach another day if you want." Nagihiko said brightly, as he walked briskly towards the town, "It's nice because it's not really crowded up here usually."

"Oh, that does sound nice," Amu said happily,a slight bounce in her step as she tried to keep up with Nagihiko. Tadase couldn't help but smile at her cheerfulness.

The group passed a small house as the walked along the rode, and an old woman sitting on the porch waved at the group. "Hello, Nagi-kun! Its nice to see you again!"

"Ah, same to you! Stop by the inn sometime!" Nagihiko said brightly, waving back to the woman who smiled happily.

"I will!"

As the group continued walking, Kukai asked, "Are you like popular here or something?"

Nagihiko shook his head. "No, it's a small town so everyone knows each other very well, except for…."

Nagihiko trailed off, and didn't show any indication that he was going to continue with his sentence. Tadase, curious, prompted him to continue with an, "Except for…?"

"No, perhaps it's better if it don't talk about it," Nagihiko muttered, shaking his head. "It doesn't really matter anyway."

"Alright..." Tadase replied, somewhat uncertain but not really worried. If it mattered, Nagihiko would say something.

As the group neared the town a faint rumbling could be heard and Tadase glanced over his shoulder to see a motorcycle heading in their direction. Nagihiko glanced over his shoulder as well, and surprised Tadase by scowling.

As the motorcycle approached Tadase noted that it was being driven by a tall male wearing all black and dark sunglasses. Judging by his figure, which was rather skinny, Tadase would guess that the rider was around his age. For some reason as the motorcyclist passed Tadase paused and watched him go by, unable to look away. The man seemed to be looking back at him from beneath his glasses, but Tadase obviously couldn't tell if he actually was. For a moment, Tadase felt a chill run down his spine.

But of course, that was only for a small moment. By the time Tadase had blinked the motorcycle was several yards ahead of them and turning a corner away from the town.

"How could that guy wear all that black? It's like a million degrees out here!" Kukai exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock.

"It's not _that_ hot," Amu said with a chuckle, shaking her head at her friend's exaggeration, "And he's probably used to the weather if he lives here."

Tadase couldn't think of anything to contribute to the conversation, so he remained quiet, noting that Nagihiko wasn't speaking either. The long-haired boy's face appeared normal enough, but Tadase felt as though he were somewhat nervous. Had the rider worried him, or was something else amiss? Or perhaps Tadase was just imagining it and nothing was wrong with him at all.

Tadase couldn't help but notice that there was an uncomfortable feeling stirring in his stomach, almost as if he were nervous himself. That was odd; what did he have to be nervous about? Was he apprehensive about staying in a strange place, or was it something completely different?

Tadase shook his head; he was just anxious at the prospect of being somewhere new. And that was nothing to worry about; he got along with others just fine. He was certain that the summer would go off without a hitch

Well, Kukai would probably say something stupid and cause a bad situation, but that happened all the time anyway, so it didn't really count.

The group continued walking for a few more minutes, and while Kukai might have been complaining about it (which Tadase really didn't get, as he was always so active) Tadase was actually really enjoying himself. Having grown up in the city, he had never really gotten to visit small towns like this, and the sight was really quite fascinating. It was nice that everyone seemed to know everyone else, and that the town was so small that you could probably walk all the way across it in less than half an hour. It was nice being able to look out and see the sea, see the bright blue water sparkling and rippling under the hot summer sun. And he had never seen so much green in his life; as far as the eye could see he saw grass, trees and flowers in every direction. The bus had long since passed from their vision, and besides from that one lone motorcycle there were no other vehicles in sight.

Well, even though he was enjoying himself, Tadase could see where Kukai was coming from. It was rather hot (making him glad he had chosen to wear a short sleeved t-shirts and shorts) and his bag was quite heavy (he did have several weeks worth of clothes in it, after all).

Even Amu, who always tried to stay optimistic, was beginning to loose it. A layer of sweat covered her skin, and she had pulled her hair back in a very messy ponytail, desperately pushing up her sleeves and fanning herself, her duffel bag hanging of one shoulder. "Hah-how long until we get there… Nagi?"

"A few minutes," Nagihiko replied promptly, not even breaking a sweat as he swiftly walked forward.

"Ah, okay…" Amu panted, stopping briefly to catch her breath. Nagihiko sighed and stopped. He walked backgrounds several steps (he was ahead of the others) and grabbed the duffel badly from her shoulder, hoisting it over his back with ease.

"Oh, thank you Nagi! I love you!" Amu mumbled, rather disorientated. She smiled largely up at him as he walked away, shaking his head at his best friend's stupidity. "You are amazing! The best ever!"

"Dude, will you please stop hitting on him? It's kind of creeping me out," Kukai muttered, shuddering slightly with a disgusted look on his face.

"I'm not hitting on him!" Amu exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. "He just did me a huge favor!"

"You do kind of sound like you're hitting on him Amu-chan; you did say that you love him," Tadase muttered, pausing to wipe off his forehead with the back of his hand before continuing on, falling into step with Amu.

"Like a friend! You know I don't feel like that about Nagi!" Amu replied loudly, her eyes wide, "Besides, we all know Nagihiko's into some girl that lives here!"

"What?!" Nagihiko shrieked, spinning around wildly to stare at the others. The group had reached the outskirts of the town, so a couple of heads turned to look at the group. Upon seeing who had made such a loud sound they would smile and shake their heads or raise a hand in greeting. "I do _not_ like anyone! Especially not a girl in this town!"

Kukai brightened, an excited look on his face. "Oh yeah, what did his mom say her name was? Mashiro Rima?"

Nagihiko's face reddened drastically. "Gah! No! Don't say that! I don't- don't say anything in front of her or I swear to god!"

"Oh my god he's totally into her," Amu giggled, trying to hide her laughs behind her hand. Unable to make eye-contact with him, she ducked her head. Tadase chuckled as well, trying to hide it from his friend and failing miserably.

Nagihiko spun around, knowing his situation was futile, and began speed-walking away. It would have been a much more effective exit if he wasn't carrying a hot pink duffel bag, and if he didn't have a natural sway in his step.

"Mrs. Mashiro Nagihiko," Kukai choked out between laughs.

The group of three laughed as they followed behind Nagihiko, trying to calm down in order to not disturb the townsfolk.

After a minute or so Nagihiko stopped, and the group congregated around him. The Fujisaki inn was a very large, traditional looking building. From what Tadase could see, located at the side of the building was a small shed. "What do you have a shed for if there are no gardens to maintain on the grounds?"

"It's for the small shuttle we keep to ferry people over from the bus stop," Nagihiko replied.

"Wha… what?" Kukai replied, his face blanking as he stared at Nagihiko.

Nagihiko turned to look at him, cocking an eyebrow skeptically, "Yeah, you didn't think we'd make our guests walk all the way to the hotel, did you?"

"…what."

Tadase was fairly certain Kukai was about to start something (if the incredibly angry look on his face was any indication) but his chance of doing so was cut off by Amu who was facing the opposite direction.

"Wait," she said slowly, her voice brimming with excitement, "_Mashiro_ bakery?"

"Gah! No!" Nagihiko exclaimed, spinning around quickly as Amu headed towards the building. He grabbed her shoulder and desperately pulled her back, dragging her towards the inn. "We can go there later; we need to tell my aunt we're here first!"

"Ah, but Nagi," Amu whined, craning her neck to try to get a better view of the building.

"Knowing my luck, my aunt will probably invite her over tonight anyway," Nagihiko muttered, a slight grimace on his face. Amu brightened up.

"Really?"

"Probably."

Amu grinned as she grabbed her duffel bag from Nagihiko. Tadase had to admit that he was excited about meeting the girl Nagihiko liked; he had never seemed to be interested in anyone, even though he was quite popular at school.

Well, Tadase wasn't interested in anyone at school either, even though he was very popular as well, but that was with great reason. It was pretty hard to find someone to date in a society so single-minded. If he was interested in anyone, chances were they wouldn't ever give him a chance.

Anyway, if Nagihiko had a girlfriend, it would very interesting to find out which kind of girl he liked.

Nagihiko slid open the door to the inn, calling out, "We're here!" into the large foyer.

Immediately, a loud sound was heard as someone dropped something. A woman's yells we're heard as a little girl with indigo hair raced out from one of the rooms and charged forward towards Nagihiko. "Nagi!"

"Manami-chan," Nagihiko exclaimed as the girl dove into his outstretched arms. "How are things going?"

"Things are good! Well, I think I just broke a plate, but that's not a big deal! Oh, but Rima-chan has looked really cranky since she heard you were coming," Manami said brightly as she pulled back from Nagihiko's arms.

"That figures," Nagihiko mumbled dejectedly, grabbing his suitcase as he entered the building, the other three trailing in after him.

"Nagi, it's nice to see you again!" A woman stepped out from the room the little girl had previously entered from. She was tall, a little on the chubby side, with medium-length indigo hair and kind brown eyes. She wiped her hands off on an apron hung around her waist as she approached the group, a bright smile on her face. "Introduce us to your friends!"

"Ah, this is Souma Kukai," Nagihiko gestured to the brunette, who raised a hand in greeting, "Hinamori Amu," Amu smiled and bowed to the older woman, "and Hotori Tadase."

"Nice to meet you," Tadase said kindly, smiling as he bowed his head.

"It's nice to meet you all; it seems like Nagi has very nice friends," she smiled, "You can call me Oba-san."

"Thank you for letting us stay here," Amu replied brightly, trying to make it seem like she wasn't struggling to hold her bag up, although it was obvious that she was straining her muscles in her attempts to hold it up.

"Oh, well thank you for helping us out! It's always very busy this time of the year and we could use the extra help!"

"No problem at all!" Amu wheezed, struggling to keep her bag off the ground, before giving in and dropping it to her left. Unfortunately, Kukai had been looking in the other direction, as well as Amu, so the bag landed on his feet with a loud thud.

"Holy craaa- what in the world is in that thing?" Kukai exclaimed, his voice an octave higher than it ever should be as he doubled over, desperately pulling his feet out from under the bag.

"Oh, sorry Kukai!" Amu's eyes were wide as she squatted down and desperately pulled on her bag, "It's just clothes, and a few other things, but it's awfully heavy, don't you think?"

"Just clothes?" Kukai asked, tears in his eyes as he wiggled his feet, "Do you have a dress made out of cement or something?"

"Now young man, you can't be asking a lady what's in her bag," Nagihiko's aunt scolded him, a slight frown on her lips, "And why is a young woman carrying her bag when there are three strong young men around to help her?"

"Oh, well Nagi did help me with it part of the way," Amu insisted as she put the bag in front of her (and out of the way).

"Manami, show them to their rooms while I clean up that broken plate. And you," Nagihiko's aunt raised a finger to point at the visibly unhappy Kukai, "carry Amu-chan's bag for her."

Nagihiko's aunt walked off into the other room

"Why do I have to?" Kukai grumbled as he reached down to pick up her bag, struggling for a moment before getting it into his arms. Between that and his own bag hanging off of one of his arms he could barely walk, and did a sort of crab-walk as he followed the others down a hall.

"It's really not _that_ heavy," Nagihiko said, giving Kukai an exasperated sort of look. Kukai glared at him, or at least did the best he could while carrying the "not-so-heavy" bag.

"Here's Amu-chan's room," Manami smiled as she gestured to a room on the right of the hall, and Kukai hurriedly shuffled into it before dropping the bag to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Thank God!" Kukai panted, putting a hand to his chest as he doubled over.

Tadase glanced inside the room briefly to see that it was a small, traditional style room with a shelf, closet, small table, and a futon. Nothing much.

"And Kukai-kun and Tadase-kun's room is across the hall!" Manami said brightly, pointing to a room a few feet away from Amu's and on the opposite wall.

Tadase opened the door to the room to find that it was more or less like Amu's, except it was a bit larger and there were two futons inside it. "Oh, it looks nice."

"Nagi's staying in his room down the hall. It's next to mine and my mom's," Manami said brightly, pointing towards the far end of the hallway. "You guys can get unpacked and then meet us in the faculty lounge in half an hour."

Upon seeing the confused looks of the other three, Nagihiko pointed towards where his family's rooms were and said, "It's right there. You should be able to tell which one it is when you walk down there. The door will be open too."

"Cool! We'll see you later," Kukai said cheerfully as he wrapped and arm around Tadase's neck, pulling the boy into their shared room. Nagihiko rolled his eyes and walked down the hall, Manami skipping ahead of him happily while babbling about something.

"Don't let him break anything, Tadase," Amu muttered seriously. Tadase gave her a sad look in reply.

"I don't... I don't think I can promise you that," he replied seriously, his voice low. Kukai gave them both highly unamused looks.

"Can you stop acting so seriously about this?!" Kukai threw both his arms out as he exclaimed, "I'm not that stupid!"

There was a loud thunk as Kukai's hand hit the hard wood of a dresser, and the boy cried out as he hugged his hand to his chest. "Ow! Goddamn it!"

Amu snickered as she entered her room, shaking her head. Tadase shut the door, trying his hardest not to laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Not a word, Hotori," Kukai muttered as he turned away, walking over to his bag while cradling his hand, "Not a word."

~oOo~

**A/N: Be patient, the Takuto will start soon. ;)**  
**Sorry I haven't uploaded anything in so long. OTL Life is a bitch. I'm advising you all to never take an advanced chemistry class in HS. It literally sucked my life away for the past few months.**  
**Anyway, please review if you liked it or have any constructive criticism. Thanks for reading. :3**


	2. Chapter 2

Half an hour after Kukai nearly broke his hand the two boys left their room to head towards the faculty lounge (of course, while Tadase's clothes were neatly stored in the drawers of his dresser, Kukai's were scattered across the floor).

"I honestly have no idea how you could make such a mess in a matter of minutes," Tadase muttered as the two walked, "I didn't even think your bag could hold that much stuff."

"What are you talking about?" Kukai asked, grinning as he strolled along at a relaxed pace, his arms behind his head, "It's not _that_ big of a mess!"

"Not that big of a mess? What _is_ a big mess then?" Tadase was perplexed; his mom would never let his room get anywhere near that messy. It would be like signing his own death sentence.

"Dude, you're forgetting I live with my brothers," Kukai laughed, guessing from the look on Tadase's face what his thought process had been, "My whole life is a mess! Uh, literally, I mean."

"Yeah, I get it," Tadase shook his head, chuckling slightly, "Mine would be the one messy in the figurative sense."

"Well, with your mom I'd probably agree with you on that," Kukai laughed, "Is she still flipping out?"

Tadase rolled his eyes as the two reached the end of the hall, turning to head into the the faculty lounge, "Yeah I don't know what her problem is but she-"

Tadase trailed off as he and Kukai stepped into the room. The two froze, their eyes transfixed on the sight before them. A short blonde girl with incredibly long and curly hair was currently holding Nagihiko to the ground. One of her feet was pressed into the middle of his back and her hands were wrapped around a large section of his own long hair, pulling it up roughly.

"What in the hell are you telling people about me?!" she screeched, her eyes almost flaming as she opened her mouth fiercely. If Tadase had to compare her to something right then and there, he would have to have gone with a demon.

"Nothing! It was my mom! My mom!" Nagihiko cried desperately, his face scrunched up with pain as he felt a sharp tug on the back of his head.

In the background, Nagihiko's aunt was reclining in a chair, looking rather bored, his cousin was giggling slightly, and Amu was fidgeting nervously from where she stood, an apprehensive look on her face.

"I feel like we should leave," Tadase murdered to Kukai, who looked just as confused as he was.

He nodded. "Yeah, we should leave."

Just as the two were turning to leave the room (knowing that whatever in the world was going on, they did not want to be a part of it) Nagihiko's aunt glanced up at them. "Oh, there you two are! I was wondering if you were going to show up soon."

"Um… is this a bad time?" Tadase asked, unsure on why she wasn't stopping the blonde girl from attacking Nagihiko's head.

"What? Oh! Oh, no, they do this all the time," his aunt simply laughed, waving a hand to brush off the occurrence. Tadase glanced over at Amu, who looked just as worried for Nagihiko's safety as he was.

At the sound of the woman laughing the blonde looked up, quickly shifting her focus from Nagihiko's aunt to the two boys. After a moment she dropped Nagihiko's hair and stepped off of him.

"Sorry about that, my name's Mashiro Rima," the girl said, giving the two boys an emotionless state.

It was a moment before it sunk in, but when it did identical grins erupted on both boys' faces as they turned to face each other, struggling to keep their laughter down as they said in unison, "Mashiro Rima?!"

"What the hell, Nagihiko!" Rima exclaimed, quickly spinning around to glare at the boy as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.

"It was my mom, I swear!" Nagihiko exclaimed, his eyes wide as he slowly backed away from the girl, "You know how she gets!"

Rima looked incredibly agitated, and it didn't help that Kukai and Tadase were still in the doorway, laughing uncontrollably. She glared at them briefly before kicking Nagihiko in the shins and walking over to the couch, plopping down on it with a rather disgruntled look on her face.

"This is great! I never knew he'd like a girl like this!" Kukai laughed, wiping tears from his eyes as he rested a hand on Tadase's shoulder, trying to steady himself, "He's a total masochist!"

"No wonder he never wanted to date Amu-chan!" Tadase laughed, trying to stifle the sound into his hand but finding himself unable.

"She wasn't hardcore enough!"

Both boys kept laughing, drawing a furious look from Rima, an unamused look from Amu, and a desperate one from Nagihiko. The boy spoke, "Hey, could you guys not do this right now? Rima-chan seems to be getting pretty mad."

"You're so whipped!" Kukai laughed once more, before the two took a few deep breaths, trying to calm themselves down. After about a minute or so the last of their giggles had faded away, and the two sat down on two chairs at a nearby table.

"Are you guys good?" Nagihiko asked, and both of the other boys nodded, struggling to force down the small smirks on their faces.

"Yeah, yeah we're good," Kukai said, giving up and just letting the grin overtake his face. Nagihiko glared at him but the brunette didn't seem to care, and instead turned to Nagihiko's aunt.

"So, you wanted to talk with us?" he asked, and the woman, who had been looking at her daughter somewhat warily, turned to face him, her eyes wide.

"What? Oh, oh yeah. I need to figure out where which jobs I should assign you guys to," she quickly said, giving Tadase the impression that she was a bit of an airhead. She reached out and grabbed a notepad, turning in a few pages before looking up once more, "What kind of skills do you guys have? Like, ones applicable to work?"

"Well, I'm rather good with people," Tadase stated after thinking about it for a moment, unsure of what skills he actually possessed, "I get along with people of all ages fairly well."

"How's your math?" his aunt inquired, moving her hands as she began scribbling something down.

"Above average." Tadase admitted, trying not to sound boastful at all, but rolling his eyes as Kukai mouthed the word "nerd" at him.

"Okay, then you can work up front, and help with the customers and such. Oh, and if things get slow you can help clean the building." Nagihiko's aunt turned to face Amu and Kukai, "Which one of you two is better at cooking?"

"Amu," Tadase and Nagihiko quickly declared in unison, remembering a painful incident a few years ago involving Kukai, Amu's kitchen stove, a big black cloud of smoke, and several dead chickens.

"Don't let him in the kitchen," Nagihiko urged.

Tadase agreed, nodding his head fiercely, "Ever."

Nagihiko's aunt gave the teens a curious look, but scribbled something down on her paper anyway. "Okay then, Amu-chan is going to be working in the kitchen, and Kukai-kun will be preparing rooms, cleaning the building, and doing odd jobs and such."

"Aw, I got stuck with the lamest job," Kukai whined, shutting himself up as Tadase jabbed him the side with his elbow.

"It's rude to complain," he scolded the other, earning an annoyed look in reply.

"Wait a second," Tadase glanced up to see Amu with her arms crossed, making the constipated sort of look she wore whenever she was thinking about something, "Why is Rima here is she hates you?"

If Nagihiko was startled by the sudden change in topic he didn't let it show. Instead, he just frowned himself and gave Rima a sideways glance (too scared to look her in the eyes) "Good question. Why _are_ you here?"

"My mom made me come over to visit. I think she's hoping I can make some friends or something," Rima shrugged, crossing her legs as she sank back in the chair, shooting a foul look in Nagihiko's direction.

"Oh, because everyone our age who lives here hates you," Nagihiko commented thoughtfully, nodding his head slightly as though it all made sense suddenly.

"It's not _my_ fault they're all morons!" Rima barked at him, another fierce scowl building on her face.

"Of course everyone but you is stupid," Nagihiko muttered under his breath, turning away from the blonde in the hopes she wouldn't hear him. He had no such luck.

"You wanna go, cross-dresser?"

"Hey!" Nagihiko's aunt suddenly cut in, knowing that if they wanted to get anything productive done at all today, she was going to have to break up the fight before it began (because once Rima and Nagihiko got going there was no stopping them), "We still have several hours until dinner, so why don't you two show the others around the town?"

"What's there to show?" Rima scoffed, obviously not impressed with the size of her hometown, "It'll take us like five minutes to walk across the whole thing."

"You'll find something," she barked back, obviously already tired of their useless arguing/playful(?) banter.

And that's how the five teenagers ended up kicked out of the inn, forced to walk around the town.

Not that Tadase was complaining; he actually was glad he hadn't gotten the opportunity to look around. It was really interesting to see how life worked in such a small place (and honestly he had a bit of a tendency to get lost, so he could use all the help he could get to learn the layout of the town.)

The group walked across the entire town, stopping to point out the local attractions (Rima was right, though; there weren't many).

"There's the clinic, which I know Amu will need to visit eventually," Nagihiko pointed out a small building on the side of the road as they walked towards the "center of town." (Rima claimed that the town was so small there was no way possible there could be a center, as the entirety of the town would qualify as such, but that was its official name.)

"Hey, why don't you have any faith in me?" Amu asked, looking somewhat hurt by his doubt in her.

Nagihiko gave her a look that clearly said, "are you serious."

"Amu-chan, we've been best friends for years, and if there's one thing I'm sure about, it's that you're a total klutz."

"That's not true!" Amu protested loudly, but was completely ignored.

"I'd have to agree with him," Tadase nodded, an apologetic look on his face, "Wherever we go you always seem to be falling down and knocking things over."

"Well at least I'm not as destructive as Kukai!" Amu fired back, "He's always breaking things and making a huge mess!"

"Why did I get drawn into this?"

"Because you're the biggest screw up of our group."

That statement was hard to argue with, so Kukai just shut his mouth and crossed his arms over his chest. He was awfully fond of pouting, Tadase had learned over the years, especially when Amu made fun of him. It had left him wondering many times if Kukai liked the exuberant girl (and of course, he meant that in the special way).

As the train of conversation ended Nagihiko led the group forward once more. As they walked the two locals pointed out what each of the small buildings in town was.

"That's the clothing and fabric store; you can buy more traditional items such as yukata there."

"Oh, that's one of the few souvenir shops we have; this one's owned by the Takahashi family."

"This is the general store; you can buy food and everyday items here. It's small, but I suppose it gets the job done."

"This is the liquor store, but obviously none of you will be coming here."

"Oh, and this is the one restaurant we have in town. It's run by the Kirishima family," Nagihiko said as the group reached what was one of the larger buildings in town (of course, its size was surpassed by that of the inn). "They have a son about our age named Fuyuki."

"Don't mention that moron in front of me," Rima hissed darkly, an incredibly foul look on her face. Nagihiko looked a little bit surprised at her hostility (although it seemed to Tadase that the blonde was always this angry).

"You always got along fine with Fuyuki-kun; what happened?" Nagihiko looked puzzled, but by the way Rima turned her back and crossed her arms over her chest it didn't seem like he'd be getting an answer anytime soon.

Rima began to walk away, her steps a little bit stronger than usual, but after only a moment stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh hell no."

"Mashiro-san!" The group turned to see a red-haired boy running up to them, an excited look on his face. When he reached the group he stopped and Rima turned to face him, a scowl on her face. "And Fujisaki-kun is here as well. I didn't know you were coming today! Oh, who are your friends?"

As Nagihiko introduced the three to Fuyuki, Kukai leaned over and whispered in Tadase's ear, "Hey, do you think he's attractive?"

This was something Kukai asked quite often, and if Tadase had to hazard a guess as to why he'd either say Kukai was worried the guy would try to hit on Amu or he was trying to set Tadase up. Either way, Tadase answered every time.

"I suppose so; I mean, he's not half bad."

"I dunno, Tadase-kun. He's kind of cute," Amu usually ended up joining these conversations as well (Tadase wondered how Kukai felt about that).

"He is not in any way cute; why would you think that?" Rima hissed harshly, abruptly joining the conversation.

"Well, I dunno. He kind of has a boyish charm, you know?"

Rima fired back "He does not!" at the same time Kukai asked, "Do I have boyish charm?"

Tadase looked at his best friend, who was wearing a sad look on his face, and patted his back. "Yes, you have lots of boyish charm."

"Thanks Hotori. I'm glad someone loves me," Kukai said, shooting Amu a foul look that she didn't catch. "Maybe I should go gay; then I could have someone who appreciates me."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kukai. Tadase-kun wouldn't date you even if you were gay," Amu said with a smirk, her hand on her hip as she stared at the brunette. Kukai scowled.

"That's not true! Is it?" Kukai rounded on Tadase, who was unable to do anything but stare back at his friend.

"Uh..."

Kukai frowned once more, and Amu laughed. "It's not like you _are_ gay though, so it doesn't matter."

Rima spoke up, a small smirk on her face, "If even his best friend isn't interested, he's probably worried he's going to die alone."

"Die alone?! Oh god, I'm going to die alone! I'll probably have like fifteen cats and-"

"You guys," The four turned to see Nagihiko giving them an incredibly exasperated expression and Fuyuki a highly confused one.

"We got kind of sidetracked, didn't we?" Amu said sheepishly, rubbing one of her arms.

"It's like I wasn't even here," Fuyuki murmured, leaving Tadase feeling a little bit guilty. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but they hadn't even said hello to him.

Right as Tadase was going to say hello to the boy Rima cut in, "That's because nobody likes you."

Nagihiko turned to Rima, his mouth agape. "What in the world happened between you guys?"

Fuyuki frowned, "I asked her out."

"No, do not even say that that way!" Rima hissed back at him, a fierce expression growing on her face once again (yes, she was definitely a demon). "You did not ask me out! You kept pestering me and hitting on me and then you showed up at my house at midnight and seren-"

"Don't bring that up! I told you my mom made me do it!"

"So you do everything your mom tells you to do? That's even worse!"

"I just-"

"We're going now," Nagihiko suddenly cut in,forcing Rima and Fuyuki to stop their arguing and turn to look at him curiously. Nagihiko shrugged, "We have to get back soon, and we still have to show them around a bit more."

"Oh yeah, sorry Fuyuki. We're going now," Rima stomped off without another word, forcing the others to hurry to keep up.

Tadase glanced back as they were leaving to see Fuyuki sigh and walk towards his family's restaurant. He kind of felt bad for the poor boy.

"Okay Nagi. I'm on your side in this one," Kukai said strongly as the group walked forward.

"What are you talking about?" Nagihiko was visibly confused, scrunching his eyebrows a little bit.

"About Fuyuki! Since he's trying to steal your woman from you, I'll hate him for you!"

"His woman?" Rima's eyebrow twitched a little, but she was ignored.

"Oh, oh I will too Nagi!" Amu nodded fiercely, giving Nagihiko a determined look. "He isn't really that cute after all! You're must hotter!"

"Yeah," Kukai agreed, "You're much... wait a second!"

"You guys, that's not necessary. You don't need to hate him over something like this."

"Fujisaki-kun is right you guys," Tadase cut in, giving Amu and Kukai a serious look, "There's no need to hate Fuyuki because it's not like he'll ever succeed in stealing Mashiro-san from him."

"You're right," Kukai said solemnly, nodding his head slowly, "Maybe we should pity how futile his future is."

"Yeah," Amu nodded, "You were wrong, Kukai. Fuyuki's going to be the one who dies alone with fifteen cats."

"Can you three cut this out?" Nagihiko asked his friends, his face deadpan. Kukai laughed at his expression, which really showed how unamused he was, as they continued walking.

"So, how much more is there in this town?" he asked, looking around at the buildings they passed.

"Well, there are a few houses further away from the town, but besides that there's just the beaches, the forest and a few fields," Nagihiko commented.

"Oh my, the town is small then," Amu commented, evidently finding that Rima's former complaints were true.

"I told you so."

Something struck Tadase as odd, though. The motorcyclist had passed them on their way into town, right? Well, where was he now? He had to live in the town, as there was no where else around here he _could_ live, but none of these houses had a garage, and there was no motorcycle in sight. Where had he gone?

"Hey, where does that guy with the motorcycle live?" Tadase suddenly asked. Rima stopped, her body stiffening slightly. She didn't move for a moment, but quickly began walking forward once more.

"What guy on a motorcycle?" Rima said, her voice oddly monotone, even for her. Tadase frowned a little; hadn't Nagihiko had this reaction earlier...?

"Oh yeah, I was wondering about that too!" Kukai chimed in, "He was wearing all black and driving a motorcycle. I didn't see it anywhere in town, though. Does he live further out from the town?"

"There's no one in the town like that," Rima replied, not even glancing at the others.

"But we _saw_ him," Amu pressed, a little bit confused. Tadase could practically see her mind tumbling down the path of ghosts and monsters, and hoped she wouldn't freak herself out too much.

"I think it would be best if you just forgot all about it," Nagihiko said, his voice oddly flat.

"Okay," Kukai leaned over to whisper to Tadase, "Something really weird is going on here."

Tadase nodded. It was obvious that Rima and Nagihiko were lying to them, but the question was _why _were they lying? It was just a guy on a motorcycle. What harm could he do to anyone?

And it was funny but the more Nagihiko and Rima tried to ignore the man, the more Tadase wanted to know about him. He thought back and could practically see the man driving past him again, could feel the other's eyes on his skin.

Once again, he felt a nervous feeling in his stomach, accompanied by a pounding in his chest.

Tadase wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he knew one thing for sure. He was going to find this mysterious man, the man everyone refused to acknowledge, and he was going to get to know him.

**A/N**: Ikuto is actually going to be in the next chapter, so please stick around for that! :) And I promise I'll update sooner next time (I got distracted by tumblr. OTL)  
As always, reviews are very much appreciated. :)


	3. Chapter 3

What happened after the group of five walked around the town was so intense and horrifying that Tadase would rather not recall it. Putting aside the specifics, the three new workers entered a two hour long training period that reduced them all to the brink of tears and total exhaustion. When Nagihiko said his aunt was strict when it came to the inn, he really wasn't kidding.

And, as if the situation couldn't get any worse, they all had to start working that night as the inn was very busy.

"Eff my life."

Tadase looked up from the guest book he was trying his hardest to make sense of (Nagihiko's aunt had terrible handwriting) to see Kukai slam a bucket full of water to the ground (causing some to splash over the edge and onto the floor). Kukai sighed, resting the mop against the wall as he stretched his arms out in front of him.

"What's up?" Tadase asked, noting an abnormally upset look on his friend's face.

"A kid just threw up in room 15 and I have to go mop it up," Kukai complained, his face scrunching up as he thought about the disgusting task, "And this is after having to scrub the urinals in the lobby bathroom, and let me tell you, old men really can't aim."

"Okay, I think I've heard enough," Tadase stopped Kukai before he could tell him more (because knowing Kukai, he would be more than happy to continue sharing his misfortune). "Hey, can you tell me what this says?"

Kukai walked up to the counter and leaned over the guest book. "Hm... Sato, room three?"

"What? I was thinking it said Sasaki, room eight," Tadase frowned, giving the book a disapproving look. Kukai turned the book a little, squinting at the page.

"Well, if you look at it this way it could say Tanaka, room six..."

Tadase sighed, sliding the book away from him. "I'll just wait till he or she shows up and go from there. Oh, but I suppose you should make sure all three of those rooms are clean just in case."

"Oh great, more work," Kukai rolled his eyes before picking up the mop and bucket and walking away.

Tadase had no idea working at the Fujisaki inn was going to be like this. Sure, he had known that he was going to have to work hard (and even if he didn't have to he would have done so willingly) but this was a little bit more than just hard work. Kukai would surely call it "slave labor," though Tadase thought that was a little extreme (emphasis on the "a little").

Tadase turned his attention back to the guest book that "Oba-san" left him (he made the mistake of calling her Fujisaki-san earlier, and she had scolded him for a while about it). Her handwriting really was impossible to read... did she just rush through writing things or something? There was no way her handwriting could possibly be this bad!

"It's Yoshida, room seven."

Tadase jumped, swiveling around quickly to see Nagihiko standing behind him, examining the guest book. Tadase took a deep breath, trying to calm down his pounding heart (Nagihiko was very good at startling people, he and Amu had come to learn over the years), before realizing what he said. "How can you tell? It doesn't even look like that!"

"Trust me; I have years of experience," Nagihiko said as he stepped back, turning to walk down the opposite hallway. He stopped momentarily, staring at the floor with a rather displeased expression (Tadase grimaced, remembering that that was where Kukai had dropped his bucket down) before walking off again. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to go check on Amu-chan in the kitchen."

Tadase wished him luck (with Amu's clumsiness, he would need it) and turned back to the book unhappily. He should have stuck with the kitchen work; it would have been a lot easier than trying to figure out this sloppy handwriting.

Oh, scratch the working in the kitchen plan; he could already hear Nagihiko yelling from here. Nope, he definitely didn't want to deal with that.

Half an hour later, and after spending five minutes trying to figure out which room a very loud woman was in (she was nice enough about it, but even as she assured him "it's fine" she was yelling) and dealing with a very irate man who was wielding a cane as though it were a sword, Nagihiko's aunt came in to check on him.

"How are you doing?" She asked, the smile on her face much to kind to belong to the woman who reduced him to "slave labor" earlier that day.

"Oh, um, alright, I suppose. I had a little bit of trouble reading your handwriting earlier, and a few customers got angry but I managed to figure everything out."

"Oh good, I'm glad."

Nagihiko's aunt grabbed the papers that Tadase had been trying to decipher and skimmed through them before turning back to the blond. "Here, I'll take care of this for you."

"Oh thank you," Tadase smiled, incredibly relieved. Just as he expected the hallelujah chorus to ring out in the background, Nagihiko's aunt spoke once again.

"I'd just like you to deliver this envelope to Yamada-san; it has my order for a delivery in it, so he needs to get it quickly," Nagihiko's aunt rummaged around in one of the drawers on the front desk for a moment, before holding a plain white envelope out to him.

"Sure, but I'm not exactly sure where he lives; where do I take it?" Tadase took the envelope from the woman, already disliking her plan to send him off on his own; he was totally going to get lost.

"I'll draw a map for you!" Nagihiko's aunt replied brightly, turning away from him to grab a spare piece of paper and a pencil. She scribbled furiously for a few moments before handing him a map, not that Tadase would call it that.

Apparently her skills in drawing were as dismal as those she had in handwriting; Tadase could only barely make out the different road names, much less where any of the buildings were located.

"Um, I can't really-"

"OH SHIT!"

Both Tadase and the woman turned to face the hallway that Kukai was last seen down at the loud boy's screams. What in the world had he done now...?

Neither one spoke for a long moment, before Nagihiko's aunt let out a low sigh. "Well, I better go check on that poor boy. And I thought I told him he wasn't allowed to swear in front of the guests..."

"Oh, as soon as you're done with that you're off for the night." Before Tadase could even bring up the issue of the map being indecipherable Nagihiko's aunt was gone, and he was left having to find his way around town all by himself.

"I am so getting lost," Tadase muttered to himself as he grabbed the "map" and headed towards the door.

If Tadase had to approximate how long it took him to get to the Yamada residence, he would probably say half an hour. If it weren't for him running into a kind old woman out for a stroll, he probably would have never found it at all, and would have wondered around the surrounding area for several hours before someone thought to send for him.

But even though the trip there was confusing, it held nothing on the trip back.

By the time Tadase was heading back to the inn it was fairly dark out; not so dark he couldn't see, but just enough to make it hard to decipher his surroundings.

"I don't know why Kukai was complaining so much. I'd much rather be cleaning than getting lost," Tadase mumbled, frowning as he stomped along the small dirt road he was walking along. It was either due to the town being so small or the sky so dark, but Tadase couldn't even tell where the main part of town was anymore.

Tadase shoved the "map" in his pocket as he continued walking, in what could barely well be the wrong direction. He wondered if he was ever going to find his way back to the town, or if a search party was going to be sent out to look for him in a few hours.

He sighed. This was definitely not the way he wanted the summer to begin. Lost on the outskirts of a remote town. Just great.

Tadase really should have brought his cell phone, in retrospect, but he had left it in his room while he was at work and had forgotten to grab it after that. What good was a cell phone anyway if he always left it at home, anyway?

Tadase was beginning to get quite mad at himself, but as he was cursing his stupidity and Nagihiko's aunt's poor handwriting he heard a sound from behind him.

He spun around quickly, his mind quickly filling with thoughts of bears and wolves (were there any of those in this area, anyway? Maybe he should have asked Nagihiko earlier) and his sure demise. Instead of ferocious animals, he was greeted by a much more pleasant sight.

_Much _more pleasant.

"Are you okay? You seem to be freaking out a little."

Standing before Tadase was the most handsome man the blond had ever seen in his life. He was tall, with dark blue hair that fell around his face, longer than Tadase's mom would ever permit, but nowhere near as long as Nagihiko's. He couldn't tell much else of his appearance due to the poor lighting, but he could tell that he had a fairly skinny build covered in all black clothing.

Despite himself, Tadase found himself blushing. He was never one to fall from someone just based on appearances but... this guy was really hot.

It took Tadase a moment to speak, he was so captivated by the stranger. After the man cocked one of his eyebrows though, Tadase jerked himself back to reality and stammered, "Oh, I'm just a bit lost, that's all."

"How do you get lost in such a small town?" The stranger inquired, taking a few steps closer to Tadase.

He was close enough that Tadase could see his eyes. Tadase noted they were a deep, captivating shade of blue (okay, that was way too cheesy for his liking but it was really true). "Uh, well, my map isn't really any good."

Tadase reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper that had hurriedly scribbled directions on it. The man's eyebrows rose significantly. "Whoa. I can't even make out what this is _trying_ to say."

"Yeah, it's horrible. Fujisaki-san is awful at writing," Tadase muttered, somehow feeling as though the woman would hear him and chastise him for both insulting her and not calling her "Oba-san."

"Fujisaki-san? You're staying at the inn? Oh, well I guess I did see you earlier today with her nephew," The man handed him back the paper (although Tadase really didn't think he needed it at all) as he spoke.

"Wait, earlier today? We walked all over the town but I don't remember seeing you," Tadase trailed off, before he remembered a slender man in all black. His eyes widened as he said excitedly, "You're the guy on the motor cycle!"

"Correct," the stranger replied with a small smile, brushing his hair our of his eyes before resting a hand on his hip.

So the mysterious man that sent pangs through his chest was also the one making him blush like an idiot... thank God Kukai wasn't here.

"How old are you then?" Tadase asked, a bit curious. You had to be eighteen to drive a motorcycle like he had, but the man could be any age around there. For some reason, Tadase was incredibly worried he was older than he looked.

"Seventeen," the man replied smoothly, not seeming to care that riding a motorcycle at his age was in violation of the law. Besides that, though, Tadase was a little shocked that this stranger was the same age as him.

"Wait, but don't you have to be eighteen to-"

"There's not anyone around here who's going to enforce it, at least, not for me," Ikuto shrugged, taking a few steps forward. Tadase turned to follow him as he walked by. "I'll take you back to the inn, if you want."

"Oh, thanks!" Tadase replied brightly, relieved that he was no longer doomed to wander around lost for the rest of the summer. He walked quickly for a moment until he reached Ikuto, upon which he fell into step with the taller boy.

"So, how old are you then?"

"Seventeen."

The man glanced over at Tadase suspiciously, "You look younger than seventeen."

"You look older than seventeen."

The man smiled, sending Tadase's heart into overdrive. "You got me there."

"I'm just relieved you didn't say I look like a girl; that's what I hear from everyone else."

"You mean... you're not a girl?"

Tadase may have gotten mad, but the look on the man's face made it plain as day he was teasing. Tadase gave him an unamused look and the other laughed slightly. "Sorry, it was too good to resist. Why would anyone say you look like a girl, anyway?"

"I don't know, but I'm used to it. Girl, fag, homo... it stopped bothering me a while ago," Tadase murmured, not able to make eye contact with the other. For all he knew, the taller man could become repulsed by him at this, wanting nothing to do with a gay person. Without meaning to, Tadase found he was holding his breath.

"That sucks. Their loss, though; they don't know what they're missing out on," The man said, giving Tadase a smile.

Tadase was suddenly all too aware of the fact that their shoulders were almost touching, and this revelation both made him want to move closer and jerk away.

"Hey, what's your name, anyway?"

"Hotori Tadase."

"Tadase... I like it."

"Thanks. What's you name?"

The man hesitated for a moment, leaving Tadase to wonder why in the world asking someone for his name would be such a big deal. "... Ikuto."

"Ikuto-kun." Tadase said, trying out how Ikuto's name felt on his lips.

"Nope. Just Ikuto," Ikuto winked at Tadase, who felt his face heating up once again. Was Ikuto really flirting with him so openly? No, there was no way this could be happening; every other guy he knew (besides Nagihiko and Kukai) ran away from him in fear, and now someone was _flirting_ with him?It was too good to be true.

"Alright, I-Ikuto." Ikuto smirked playfully at Tadase as the blond stuttered in embarrassment.

"You're too cute," he said fondly.

Tadase swore he was blushing more than Amu had ever in her life, and that was definitely saying something.

"Shut up," Tadase muttered, too embarrassed to look Ikuto in the eye. Instead he directed his focus onto his feet, and made sure he didn't trip over something lying on the dimly lit path.

"Make me," Ikuto countered. And would Tadase love to do that. He would love to just place his mouth against Ikuto's so the boy had no chance of speaking anymore, but that was impractical, and no matter how attractive he was, Tadase did not think it wise to kiss someone mere minutes after meeting them.

So he simply blushed and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his pants, giving Ikuto a sideways sort of look.

After a moment, Tadase spoke. "Hey, when I asked Fujisaki-kun about you earlier today-"

"You were asking about me? I'm flattered," Ikuto grinned, forcing Tadase's face to stay the violent shade of red it was now nearly accustomed to.

"I just thought it was weird that I didn't see a motorcycle anywhere in town!" Tadase defended, purposely not revealing that their earlier encounter had left him a little flustered.

"Oh really?"

"And anyway," Tadase pressed on, wanting to get past this particular roadblock before he ended up making a fool of himself, "He had a really weird response when I mentioned you. He and Mashiro-san both said you didn't live here."

"Really?" Ikuto seemed a little surprised, and Tadase hurried to clarify.

"Well, it was more like 'nobody like that lives in the town' but yeah, pretty much."

"Huh... they were probably hoping we wouldn't meet... that's rather cold," Ikuto mumbled, more to himself than to Tadase.

Tadase frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ikuto didn't respond for a long moment, and when he did speak Tadase could tell he was holding something back, "It's probably not wise for you to mention that we've meet. Actually, don't mention me to your friends at all."

"What? Why?" Tadase was incredibly confused by this whole situation. Why would anyone care who he talked to? Was there something bad about Ikuto, something that made the others in town dislike him? But what could that be? He was attractive, civil, and he seemed pretty nice, albeit a bit of a tease, but that wasn't anything bad. Did he have some kind of dark past or something?

"...Most of the others in town don't like me. It would probably be better for you not to get involved with me at all."

"I can't do that!" Tadase insisted, stopping where he stood to give Ikuto a confused look. After a moment of silence he asked, "Does everyone in the town ignore you?"

"More like pretend I don't exist... but don't worry, I've gotten used to it by now," Ikuto muttered, staring off into the distance rather than look Tadase in the eyes.

That wasn't right. Whatever he did, it couldn't be bad enough for the whole town to pretend he didn't exist. Well, he supposed it _could_ be possible, but if Ikuto had really down something so bad he'd surely have been thrown in jail by now.

What was worse, Ikuto seemed completely nonchalant about the whole thing. He was talking about how much everyone hated him and ignored him as casually as someone would comment on the weather. This thought made Tadase very sad, and he made up his mind before he could think to do otherwise. "It's too late for that; I'm already involved. And I intend on getting to know you more in the next few weeks I'm staying here."

Ikuto looked rather surprised by Tadase's declaration. He turned away, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. "Well, don't blame me when the whole town hates you."

Tadase wondered if he should be doing this, but it was too late for him to change his mind; he had already decided upon it when seeing Ikuto riding past on his motorcycle earlier this morning.

No matter what anyone else said, he would get to know Ikuto.

And he might later say that it was the best decision of his life,


End file.
